DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Normally, the Farm Progress Show is all about the newest technology and agricultural practices. But it is also a chance for local health providers to connect with members of the community.Â
"It's really important for us to think about rural mental health and the needs of the rural community, because they are very unique compared to urban communities," said Mary Garrison, the President and CEO of Heritage Behavioral Health. "The positive piece about small towns and people, everybody knowing everyone, can pose some problems. When someone is experiencing a mental health or addiction disorder, they might not want to share that information ... and so they often tend to keep that inside, and oftentimes not get access to care."Â
Garrison said there are also a lot of stigmas regarding mental health, especially in rural areas. People think they should be able to just "feel better" and do not want to reach out for help.Â
There is also a barrier to care in rural areas, where mental and behavioral healthcare can mean long waits to the nearest city. Representative Nikki Budzinski said recently that federal cuts could make it even more difficult to get help.Â
"Some of the unique challenges in our rural communities is we don't have the specialists we need to rely on things like telemedicine in order to get access to the mental health and behavioral health providers, but with the deep cuts to Medicaid that have happened under Trump's administration and under Republicans in Congress, those less dollars are going to make it that much more difficult for our rural communities to get access to that care," Budzinksi said.Â
For more information on Heritage Behavioral Health and their services, check out their website here. For links on Illinois mental health resources, click here.
If you or someone you know is in a mental health crisis, call the 988 Lifeline. The 3-digit number is the equivalent of 911, but for mental health.
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